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While growing up in Kolkata I thought that all South Indians are ‘Madrasis’ and that all that there was to South Indian food were idlis and dosas.

Coming to Mumbai was a bit of an eye opener. One got to meet folks from the different communities of South India. Tamilians of course but also Andhraites, Keralites and Kannadigas. One also got exposed to a lot more of South Indian food here than in my Kolkata days. There was the Tamilian fascination for curd rice or tair sadam. The filter coffee which defined the South. The biggest discovery for me was that South Indian food needn’t be only vegetarian!

True, Mumbai doesn’t have Andhraite and Chettinad or even Coorgi for that matter. Yet, with it’s Udipi joints from Karnataka, Keralite Muslim restaurants and Malayali places Mumbai does offer quite a bit when it comes to South Indian fare. Apart from the ubiquitous Shiv Sagars and Mumbai friendly fare there, you could go to the Udipi hot spot of Matunga and the Keralite bastion of Mahim to for South Indian treats.

Or, like me you could head to Fort in South Mumbai for your fix of South Indian food. Fort was the city’s original Commercial Business District. It had a huge South Indian migrant population working there in the post independence years. A result of this there are many South Indian restaurants that you will find here…Udipi, Keralite and Mangalorean….Swagath Udipi, Anand Bhava, Rahmania, Fountain Plaza, Mahesh, Apoorva, Trishna, Ankur, Deluxe, Taste of Kerala…the list is endless.

As a region, restaurants offering food from the South of India arguably dominate Fort.

In this walk we will go to some of the South Indian restaurants which I went to during my days at Fort and get a taste of the different types of South Indian food on offer. The idea is to intrigue you enough to make you want to go back to explore even more. For that’s what would happen to me. Each time I tried something here I would go back for more. In the walk we will try the food from the different states of South India and yes we will try to go beyond idlis and dosas.

We will try out the porotas and chicken roasts and perhaps some beef curry at the Keralite Muslim places. Then tuck into a Mangalorean lunch home for some chicken kodi roti where the coconut based curry seeps into the crisp rice based rotis.

We can have some filter coffee in between to pep us up and then head for some Mangalorean seafood. Prawn gassis and neer dosas are always a good choice here and you could wash it down with some local sol kadi. Then head off for the Onam Sadya or the special Hindu Keralite many coursed vegetarian meal which is served on banana leaves.

This is a walk with a lot of food, many tastes and flavours and a plethora or meats and veggies to try out. Planning will be key here to ensure that you can keep going till the end. This is walk for those who love to eat. Along with the walk you get a flavour of South India right here in the heart of Mumbai.

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